With each successive semiconductor technology generation, substrate diameters tend to increase and transistor sizes decrease, resulting in the need for an ever higher degree of accuracy and repeatability in substrate processing.
Plasma processing systems available today are among those semiconductor fabrication tools which are subject to an increasing need for improved accuracy and repeatability. One metric for plasma processing systems is increased uniformity, which includes uniformity of process results on a semiconductor substrate surface as well as uniformity of process results of a succession of substrates processed with nominally the same input parameters. Continuous improvement of on-substrate uniformity is desirable. Among other things, this calls for plasma chambers with improved uniformity, consistency and self-diagnostics. Controlling the temperature of a substrate support assembly during etch and/or deposition process of a semiconductor chip wafer is critical to control the yield of devices from a wafer.